I’ve started a gradual weight loss plan for next year’s road racing season and hope to race 20-25 lbs lighter. Most of this should be fat if I do it right, but I’m also hoping to drop some upper body muscle mass.
Swimming was definitely not part of my winter plan, however, they just put in an indoor pool a few minutes from my house where we are already members. I’d like to get your thoughts on the benefits of mixing up my off-season training with swimming vs possibly adding (or not losing) upper body mass. Are there good types of swim workouts that will not add muscle mass?
I really don’t think there’s any swim workouts where you wouldn’t be using your muscles. Floating might be what you’re looking for.
You probably should be more worried about the fat now based on those numbers. If you want to lose a bit of everything then just starve yourself. Or clean up your diet a bit while cutting out some calories out of your daily intake and stay consistent with your cycling.
How much upper body muscle are you carrying? If you are a former powerlifter, and you just swim, then swimming will not cause you to gain any muscle, you’ll still lose some. If you have very little upper body muscle mass now, you will gain some. You will gravitiate towards what you need to support the intensity load on your muscles.
If you are really worried about gaining muscle mass in the pool, then just swim easy / long.
Swimming makes me really hungry (think it’s because it reduces core temperature) so regardless of the impact on muscle mass it’s not an activity I would turn to if I was trying to lose weight (and wasn’t due to enter any events with swimming in).
Seriously how much muscle do you carry? Intentionally loosing muscle, unless you are really swole for a cyclist, is pretty dumb. Its healthy with muscle. It keeps your BMR up. It makes you stronger and less prone to injury. It helps you loose fat to train said muscles. Going full gandhi-mode to become a good cyclist is a risky route.
I’ve lost 20 lbs or so since February - all I do is swim. Granted, I was really out of shape then, but still, I’ve lost a lot. I try to get in every day if I can, but it’s not exactly a high mileage program that I’m on. an hour to 2 hours at the most.
I haven’t changed my diet at all, I’m pretty much on the “see food” swimmers diet. My wife wonders where all the food goes.
ETA - my rate of weight loss is about the same as the last time I put on a bunch of weight in 2007 ish, and ran a lot to get rid of the weight. about 20 lbs in 6 months.
I’ve lost 20 lbs or so since February - all I do is swim. Granted, I was really out of shape then, but still, I’ve lost a lot. I try to get in every day if I can, but it’s not exactly a high mileage program that I’m on. an hour to 2 hours at the most.
I haven’t changed my diet at all, I’m pretty much on the “see food” swimmers diet. My wife wonders where all the food goes.
Not to belittle your accomplishment, but 2.5lbs/month isn’t a particularly large amount of weight (like 300kCal/day?). Not many cyclists even swim an hour at a time, much less one to two hours a day every day. Your idea of a high mileage program is vastly different than what is envisioned by a non-swimmer!
Perhaps we can agree that swimming is not the most efficient way for a cyclist to lose weight (like lifting weights isn’t the most efficient use of time to get faster
I know its not a rapid weight loss, but I’ve never intentionally tried to hit a target weight or any of that crap. I just train, and try to get faster, and out of curiosity I might weigh myself now and again. I don’t really view my own weight loss as an “accomplishment”, it’s more of a by-product of doing other stuff that I like.
I was really running because a friend of mine was training for a half marathon, so I was being supportive. (she was cute too
No need to worry about gaining any mass on your upper body, but you probably won’t lose much either if its been seven to eight years since you stopped lifting. I found that I lost ninety percent of my muscle mass from heavy lifting after a year or so of absolutely zero lifting. Most of the swimming I do now hard short course workouts so its certainly possible to maintain fitness without going too hard and building mass up too much. I was at 240 pounds when I stopped playing football in college and when started triathlons after I graduated. I am now 190 pounds (have been around 205 pounds since before last month when I started really trying to lose weight) after three years of keeping the same diet (for the most part) and training as normal. I will say that your plan for this winter is the same as my plan for this winter. I’m hoping to starve myself down to around 170 pounds by restricting and improving my diet. I’d like to get to my pre-college weight but by losing fat this time around.
How much upper body muscle are you carrying? If you are a former powerlifter, and you just swim, then swimming will not cause you to gain any muscle, you’ll still lose some. If you have very little upper body muscle mass now, you will gain some. You will gravitiate towards what you need to support the intensity load on your muscles.
If you are really worried about gaining muscle mass in the pool, then just swim easy / long.
This is an interesting topic.
Personally- I can swim a lot, at all intensity levels.
I will get faster, but will NOT put on a lot of muscle mass.
Most swimmers do not have huge amounts of muscle.
Some people do seem to bulk up as a result of swimming though.
Maybe this has something to do with poor stroke, or training.
Maybe to much emphasis on short bursts of power in the stroke.
Swimming makes one hungry.
I doubt one will loose weight by swimming unless:
you swim a lot- 30,000 + yds/wk
you also improve your diet- less empty calories
Cycling does not make you as hungry as swimming, and most triathletes will cycle more than they will swim.
Running is the best bet for weight loss- in addition to burning calories it might also make you feel sick (reducing appetite ).
Long runs, tempo runs, intervals- all make me feel sick. I gotta force the food down.
On the flip side, you can swim as much as you want and not fatigue your legs for cycling. So there’s that. More training load = bigger engine = more calories burned. Even if you put on some muscle now, it will cause you to burn more calories, and you’ll drop it later when your cycling only.
Having said that, there are other issues at play. If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s 70% diet and 30% exercise. If you’re serious about weight loss then doing a variety of sports has a larger effect (due to increased adherence to workouts).
My vote is for cycling, but if you don’t do other things you’re not maximizing your potential. But mostly, as they say, “you can’t outrun a bad diet”.
I’d swim. If you find from your experience that swimming makes you ravenous - it does for some, not so much for me… Throw in a run after the pool. That will usually do the trick.
I’m a USMS member and the most recent edition of “Swimmer” magazine has an article about swimming and weight loss and the myths/facts/etc. They found that swimming was not an activity that prevented weight loss. Just exercise and watch what you eat. Calories in, calories out.
It does seem like a marathon is a lot harder than a 3 hour bike.
But how about a 120k bike time trial vs. a leisurely 20 mile run?
As for the swim- you don’t burn many calories floating.
But anyone do a 13,000 m workout?
That would certainly not be easier than a leisurely 20 mile run or 3 hr bike.
Don’t worry i will eat whatever you pass up on to keep the world in equilibrium. I’m probably at around 2,500 calories fro the day and I still have a snack and dinner to go!
